History

History

HAWLEY

In the late 18th Century, pioneers moving west through these woodlands found a place where three creeks converged. They settled here and built a sawmill, eventually rafting lumber down the Lackawaxen and Delaware to Philadelphia. The first child of the settlement was born in 1812; the first store opened in 1827; the following year the Delaware & Hudson Canal, running from Honesdale to New York, was completed, and anthracite coal began moving on barges along towpaths through Hawley to New York markets.

From the 1840's to the 1860's the area experienced great prosperity. The Pennsylvania Coal Company completed a gravity railroad as another route to connect coal mines to the canals. People were employed at the transfer docks, in train car and repair shops, storehouses, and other places needed for business. At first the town was known as Paupack Eddy. It was renamed Falls Port, then Hawleysburgh, in honor of Irad Hawley, the first president of the Pennsylvania Coal Company. Finally in 1851, the name was shortened to its present name, Hawley.

With the arrival in 1865 of the Erie Railroad, the canal and gravity railroad declined in use. The basin of the canal system was filled in and became a playing field. In 1929 the Albert W. Bingham family donated it to the borough as a park which bears the family name. Other industries succeeded Hawley's lumber and coal beginnings, including fine cut glass and silk and textile mills.

Another cycle of growth and prosperity began for this community in 1925. In that year, the Pennsylvania Power & Light Company dammed the Wallenpaupack Creek for hydroelectric power and created the largest man made lake in the state. Hawley's back yard became a new resource for recreational and business opportunities which continue today. We invite you to explore the town of Hawley and experience the spirit and legacy we are working to preserve.

LAKE WALLENPAUPACK

Prior to 1926, only a stream flowed through the area that is now Lake Wallenpaupack. Leni - Lenape Indians named it "Wallenpaupack" which means "The Stream of Swift and Slow Water". The land at one time was owned by William Penn who deeded it to his son, and then to James Wilson, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Wilsonville; the site of PPL Companies Hydroelectric Dam, and at one time the county seat of Wayne County, was named for James Wilson.

The first step in the plan to construct a dam was purchasing land from about 100 owners. Land values at that time were about $20 an acre. Farms, barns, houses, sheds, and other buildings were either razed or moved. Trees were cut and 17 miles of road along with telephone and telegraph poles were re-routed beyond the 52 mile shoreline. A cemetery was also relocated. A dike was erected near Tafton to complete the Lake bed, and a stream was temporarily diverted while the dam was built. Construction started early in 1924 and 2,700 men worked nearly 2 years to complete the project. It included the dam, the power plant, and the giant wooden flow line to carry the water from the Lake to the plant location 3 1/2 miles away. The original wooden structure, one of the worlds largest pipelines at that time, was constructed from 5 million board feet of douglas fir and transported by ship from the state of Washington.

The Wallenpaupack 44,000 KW power plant was constructed simultaneously with the dam and put into service in 1926. The plant increased PPL's system generating capacity approximately 25% in 1926. It's system-wide generating capacity, when the plant went on line, was only about 225,000 KW.

Before 1925, the year round population of the lake area was about 500 people and changed little except for an occasional influx of fishermen in the spring and hunters in the fall. It's value, as an ideal recreation spot, has been evident from the time Lake Wallenpaupack was completed.

LAKE WALLENPAUPACK 75TH ANNIVERSARY LIMITED EDITION HISTORY BOOKS

In 2001 both Lake Wallenpaupack and the Hawley-Lake Wallenpaupack Chambr of Commerce celebrated their 75th Anniversary. In honor of this occasion, a limited edition 75th anniversary history book was compiled through the efforts of the Wallenpaupack Historical Society, PPL, and the Hawley-Lake Wallenpaupack Chamber of Commerce. These hard cover informational books are available at a cost of $25, including shipping and handling. Please make your check or money order payable to H-LW Chamber, and send it to the Hawley-Lake Wallenpaupack Chamber of Commerce, PO Box 150, Hawley PA 18428. You may also phone in a major credit card to 570-226-3191 or email hlwchmbr@ptd.net to place your order.